Boot or shoe cleaner.



Patented Feb. I9, ism F. DAYTON.

BOOT 0B SHOE CLEANER.

(Application filed Fab. 9, 1900.)

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llivrrnn Firi'ras Faraw'r Or -trou FRANK DAYTON, OF PORTLAND, OREGON.

BOOT OR SHOE CLEANER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 668,285, dated February 19, 1901.

Application filed February 9, 1900. fierial No. 4,662. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK DAYTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Portland, in the county of Multnomah and State of Oregon, have invented a new and useful Boot or Shoe Gleaner, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a boot or shoe cleaner particularly adapted for use on rub- IO ber, enamel, or glazed shoes; and the object of the same is to provide a novel form of holder to receive a sponge at an intermediate point to prevent expansion of the latter in a transverse direction, to thus distinctively and positively maintain the opposite ends of the sponge in separate condition and prevent close mergence or arrangement when the sponge is saturated with water, andalso to so arrange the sponge within the holder that one end will be slightly stiffened or supported with sufficient resistance for utilization in removing mud or other adhering material and as a primary preparation of the boot or shoe for the after polishing or softer treatment with the opposite end of the sponge.

The invention consists in the construction and arrangement of the several parts, which will be more fully hereinafter described and claimed. 1

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View of the improved device. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the holding element and its handle in preferred form. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of a sponge, showing the preferred form employed in connection with the improved device. Fig. 4 is a perspective View of a modified form of holding element and handle.

Similar numerals of reference are employed to indicate corresponding parts in the several Views.

The numeral 1, Figs. 1 and 2, designates a holding element or clasp having a handle 2, the said element being extended on opposite 5 sides of the plane of the handle to produce a long bearing-surface or an extended intermediate contraction of a sponge 3, which is inserted in said element and preferably of the form shown in Fig. Sand having a flat end 4 50 and an opposite curved end 5, the end 4 being the base of the sponge and therefore considerably more dense than the opposite free top end 5. When the sponge Sis disposed in the element 1, the base end 4 is materially stiffened or given a resistance sufficient to make it exceptionally useful and particularly adapted for primarily removing mud or other adhering material from a boot or shoe preparatory to polishing or otherwise after-treating the same. In contradistinction to the stiffened condition of the base end 4 of the sponge when positioned in the element 1 the head 5 does not have its free movement re-' strained in the least and affords a soft polishing, dressing, or finishing surface adapted for use in various modes of treating shoes, and particularly in cleaning and polishing rubber, enamel, or glazed shoes. The intermediate engagement of the sponge in the manner set forth prevents the two ends 4 and 5 when saturated from losing their identity or individuality, in view of the fact that the intermediate part of the sponge, which is clasped by the element 1, will be effectually prevented from having a transverse expansion, though it may expand longitudinally or in the direction of the opposite ends.

The devices shown by Figs. 4 and 5 have a structure somewhatdifferent from that shown by the device in Figs. 1 and 2; but the arrangement of the spongein the modified forms is the same as that in the primary form (shown by Figs. 1 and 2) and is intended to preserve the same characteristics in the effective operation of the sponge in accordance with the features of this invention.

The several different forms of the device will now be particularly described, and the structure of the primary form, as shown by Figs. 1 and 2, is as follows: The said primary form is preferably made u p from asingle piece of wire, of suitable gage and stiffness, having a loop 4 to form a convenient grip as a part of the handle 2 and a twisted neck 5, the terminals being formed into oppositely-directed or reversely-arranged spirals 6 and 7, which are continuous and in alinement to produce the tubular element 1. This is a very cheap and effective form of the improved device and one in which the sponge 3 may be easilyinserted in view of the spiral continuity or alinement of the spirals in a plane substantially at right angles to the neck 5.

The first modified form, as shown by Fig.

4, comprises a handle 2 similar to that shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and comprising a loop 4 and a twisted neck 5; but in this instance the neck 5 is attached to a central ring 8, connected by side rods or braces 9 to opposite end rings 10, thus forming a skeleton cylinder similar to the element 1 of the device shown by Figs. 1 and 2, with the exception that the spaces between the individual rings 8 and 10 are greater than those between the coils; but the bearings on the sponge on opposite sides of the center are fully preserved in this instance.

Many other forms of the device embodying the same features might be described and illustrated; but it is believed that enough have been shown to set forth the intention or purpose of the present improvement and the advantages accruing therefrom, and as the improved device has a wide range of modification or contemplates numerous variations it will be understood that changes within the purview of the invention and the scope of the claims will be adopted at will.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is- 1. A device of the character set forth comprising a handle having a holder or clasp composed of reversely-arranged or oppositely-directed coils, and a sponge removably fitted in the said holder or clasp and having its intermediate portion contracted thereby regularly on opposite sides of the plane of the said handle. l

2. A cleaning device of the character set forth, comprising a handle or stem, a clasping or embracing holder composed of a series of curved surrounding elements with open spaces between them in a longitudinal direc- In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

FRANK DAYTON.

Witnesses:

M. PERRY HAHN, D. E. SQUIRES. 

